1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bait or lure for fish and the method of making same. In particular there is provided a bait or lure comprised of a water soluble moldable body having a controlled rate of dispersion in water and a dough or putty-like consistency capable of being formed about a hook in differing shapes or forms. The body, which may also contain, natural and artificial fish attractants, and the usual preservative, dyes or pigments, and other agents is comprised of a cellulose ether and a polyalkylene glycol blended with water in an amount sufficient to form a moldable body of dough-like consistency.
2. Description of Related Art
Various artificial baits have been proposed in the past, containing fish attractants either natural or artificial. Many of them have been rigid plastics or porous sponge like bodies. U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,420 to William E. S. Carr describes an artificial bait comprising a semi-rigid, flexible, water insoluble, hydrophilic matrix, permeable by diffusion to passage of an attractant incorporated therein. The matrix is a gel-like solid phase of a variety of materials, of which gelatin is preferred. The gels may be modified with gel-like thickening materials such as acacia, agar, agarose, carrageenan, guar gum, pectin, starch, protein, collagen and synthetic polymers, such as polyvinylpyrrolidone.
Another patent to Carr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,018, also utilizes a substantially water insoluble matrix of gelatin, agar, locust bean gum, Celufil (a partially hydrolyzed cellulose) formed with water and glycerol at elevated temperature not exceeding 100.degree. C.
An abstract of a Japanese Application No. 84/198,765, 25 September 1984, (published Japan Kohai Tokyo Koho, JP 60/94047 A2, 85/94047, 27 May 1985), apparently corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 535,491 filed September 1983, describes a fish bait, prepared by combining polymers such as soluble cellulose esters or polyvinyl alcohols, plasticizer and fish attractants. Thus propylene glycol and hydropropyl methyl cellulose were mixed with fish attractants, such as amino acid mixtures with ascorbic acid as a stabilizer, and made into lures.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,691 of May 2, 1989 a powdered carrier for fish attractant is disclosed, which contains a cellulose ether which can be applied to fish lure.
Although there is evidence that feeding behavior in different species is stimulated by somewhat different chemical substances, four indicia have been identified as characteristic of all feeding stimulants. According to the THE BEHAVIOR OF IELEOST FISHES, Edited by Tony J. Pitcher, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986, page 167, fish feeding stimulants are: (1) low molecular weight (&lt;1000 MW), (2) non-volatile, (3) contain nitrogen, and (4) are amphoteric. Individual compounds, such as betaine, glycine, alanine and taurine, have been identified as contributing major attractant effectiveness, but mixtures of attractants have nearly always been identified as more effective than single compounds. For example, the effect of amino acids on the behavior and visceral systems of fish has been reported in Chemical Abstracts 102 (15): 129168q. Glutamic and aspartic acids were observed to attract salmonids. Cod were attracted to dicarboxylic amino acids and certain other amino acids. A study of the attraction of coral fish to sea anemone has been presented in Chemical Abstracts 104 (25): 222210y. A combination of amines, including tryptamine and tyramine, were determined to be the attractive substances in the secretion of sea anemone.